Sometimes lazy works: I had been committed to using a shadow box so that I would have background and tabletop information in front of me. A couple of months ago I got lazy and didn't set it up. Now that's become my habit. 

onion studies

Doing studies of single objects is new for me. I've been doing small paintings since '97 and they've all had about five objects in them which makes each object quite small. So using only one object in the same format makes them quite a bit larger. Also, I felt I was doing a "whole painting" by incorporating a multitude of objects with pathways for the eye to move around. Someone in my art group said, "Oh, lots of artists have simplified their subjects as they've gotten older"! I know she was trying to support me but ohh, I'm getting old? :(
Onion Study, 3x4 inches, watercolor on board